C# (pronounced “c-sharp”) is a modern object-oriented and type-safe programming language. C# allows developers to create different types of secure and reliable applications that run on .NET. C# belongs to the well-known C family of languages, and will seem familiar to anyone who has worked with C, C++, Java, or JavaScript. Here is an overview of the main components of C# 8 and earlier. If you want to learn the language with interactive examples, we recommend working through the introductory C# manuals.

C# is an object-oriented, component-oriented programming language. C# provides language constructs to directly support this operating concept. This makes C# suitable for creating and applying software components. Since its inception, C# has been enriched with features to support new workloads and modern software development guidelines. C# is basically an object-oriented language. You define types and their behavior.

Here are just a few features of C# that allow you to create robust and resilient applications. Garbage collection automatically frees memory occupied by unreachable unused objects. Types that allow null provide protection against variables that do not reference allocated objects. Exception handling provides a structured and extensible approach to error detection and recovery. Lambda expressions support functional programming techniques. LINQ syntax creates a generic template for handling data from any source. Language support for asynchronous operations provides a syntax for creating distributed systems. C# has a Uniform Type System. All C# types, including primitive types such as int and double, inherit from a single root type object. All types use a common set of operations, and values of any type can be stored, transferred, and handled in a similar way. Moreover, C# supports both user-defined reference types and value types. C# allows you to dynamically allocate objects and store simplified structures in a stack. C# supports universal methods and types that provide enhanced type safety and performance. C# provides iterators that allow collection class developers to define custom behaviors for client code.

C# emphasizes version control to ensure program and library compatibility over time. Version control issues have significantly influenced aspects of C# development such as separate virtual and override modifiers, rules for allowing overloading of methods, and support for explicitly declaring interface members.